A Personal View of Five Decades of Recessions

Abstract

Since 1970 the U.S. has experienced 7 recessions of various length, severity, and regional impact. This paper explores these 7 recessions and describes the causes, severity, length and regional impacts for each recession. The key takeaways from this study is that exogenous energy shocks and oil prices matter as they contributed to four of the six recessions. In addition, Federal Reserve policy matters as in three of the six recessions, the Federal Reserve either directly cause or contributed to the decline. On a regional level, the severity and duration of recession is determined by where you live. The Plains region was consistently the least impacted by downturns in the economy. The Rocky Mountain region was next in also being less cyclically sensitive to economic downturns.